The Missing Sleuth

I’m convinced that a notable percentage of my readership feels intrigued in the presence of a good, old fashioned mystery piece.

And honestly speaking, which literary fanatic didn’t think of penning down the next detective bestseller? We’ve all been fans of Sherlock, Pradosh Mitter, Poirot, The Hardy Boys, The Famous Five- when it was about solving crimes. Maybe it was the instinctive hatred of criminals fed through a constant diet of moral soup- or otherwise, we all felt attached to it. It was hard to put down a mystery masterpiece! And the genre has effortlessly transformed into sleek soap operas that now dominate prime time television in the west. It probably started with all the hype being directed towards forensic experts (Think: CSI, The X Files) but lately, the focus has shifted back to the original levels of consulting detectives.

The modern adaptation of Sir Doyle’s “Sherlock” by BBC One and the overwhelming success of “Castle” indicates that the time is just about right to introduce someone new, introduce someone in the Indian Literary Scene with enough deduction skills to solve murder mysteries in the blink of an eye. Someone who is equipped with the new age abilities of neurolinguistic programming, some one who has spent his fair share of time in the gutter- and emerges as a high functioning brainiac.

Should it be a cop? Should it be someone who is associated with the judiciary functions of this nation? Should it be a lawyer/judge? But then again, we don’t want to replicate what has already been done and won.

We need something new. Maybe even a female protagonist. How soon a mystery can weave itself down, remains to be seen- Watch this space.

And by the way,

The Cross Cultural Anthology featuring “Three Days in a Week” by myself- will be available at the Pageturners Bookstore, M.G. Road, Bangalore soon. See you there!

 

Love,

Shom